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About Suminell

Hi all,
Suminell here with a quick update on our new game, Z-Exemplar.
We have new trailer!
[video=youtube;3oEtroc_gg4]https:[/video]
And I’m excited to say we have produced our first demo - a pre-alpha work-in-progress that we would love for you to play (and hopefully enjoy) which is available for Mac or PC (mobile coming soon!). You can get it here
We are working hard to get the game finished and it is our hope that we can eventually get it onto the Steam platform. We’re currently going through the Steam Greenlight process so if you like the demo and you have a spare moment then heading over to…
Z-Exemplar Steam Greenlight page
... and giving Z-Exemplar a YES vote would be massively appreciated!
Also, we love to get feedback that can improve our game so if you have any suggestions or criticisms or we'll accept both with equal gratitude.
Thanks for your time,
Suminell.

Hello everybody,
It’s been a wee while since the last update so I’ll rattle through a few points of progress here.
But before I do I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has voted for Z-Exemplar on Steam Greenlight so far - your support is massively appreciated. If you like the look of Z-Exemplar and think it is something you’d like to play then please consider giving us a Yes vote over at…
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=504350865
Okay, appeal over! On to the news…
Intro
Z-Exemplar now has an intro… of sorts. In keeping with the game’s general aesthetic it has an understated 8-bit approach but, I hope, with a bit of humour thrown in. It sets out a very simple premise for the game - there’s no point getting bogged down with convoluted backstory with what is, after all, a shoot-em-up - but it sets the scene for the task to come quite adequately, that being one pilot on a solo-mission to conquer a galaxy of increasingly hostile planets.
Anyway, take a swizz at…
…and make up your own mind. Oh, there are no sound effects added just yet.
Levels
Work is progressing well here - the levels that have been completed are being continually refined and work is underway on getting the remaining levels finished. Implementing the smooth moves option had a bit of a knock on effect with some of the enemy patterns and that set me back a little but everything is back on track now.
I’ve been doing a bit of work on level endings also. I want the level endings to be as varied as possible. Some will, of course, have end-of-level bosses but others may end with with a reward of a load of pick-ups, an enemy ambush or even an appearance by the mysterious beings that take an interest in the player’s mission and provide a bit of narrative drive.
Perks, Missiles, Buddies and Probes
All the ships attachments and power-ups are all but complete and the load-out selection screen is done. That makes me happy! I’m really pleased with how the weapons have turned out - I think for this type of game it is vital to get these right - and I think there is a good variety of weapon types that make for a range of different play experiences. My hope is that each player will have their own favourite load-out configuration that may be wildly different from another player.
Perks have also been implemented giving the player shields, damage multipliers, power-up head starts, speed ups and the like.
That’s all for now,
Thanks for reading and I’ll be back with more updates soon.
Suminell.

A few people have commented on Z-Exemplar's 'unique' approach to sprite movement calling it jerky, jittery and a bunch of other words that don't begin with a 'j'.
The jittery movement is a throwback to the days of the ZX Spectrum - a computer that was pretty popular over here in Europe but less so elsewhere. It suffered from something called "colour clash" meaning sprites couldn't pass each other without their colours bleeding into one other. One way coders of the day got round this was by constraining sprites to character cells (8x8 pixel boundaries).
Now, I can totally appreciate that not everyone will have as much fondness for original ZX chunky flavour movement as I have so with this in mind I am implementing an alternative, smoother movement option.
It's still work in progress and a bit rough around the edges but rest assured by the time it's polished up it will be smoother than a buttered bannister!
A quick reminder that Z-Exemplar is now on Steam Greenlight and could really use your vote. If you have a spare couple of seconds it would be tremendous if you could pop over to…
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=504350865
…and lend us your support by voting YES. In return you’ll have our eternal gratitude.
Thank you for your time.
Suminell!

Hello all,
A new trailer for Z-Exemplar is up here -
Also Z-Exemplar is now on Steam Greenlight which means it needs votes and plenty of them. If you have a spare couple of seconds it would be tremendous if you could pop over to…
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=504350865
…and lend us your support by voting YES. In return you’ll have our eternal gratitude.
Thank you for your time.
Suminell.

Probes are one of the main ways to upgrade your ship's firepower in Z-Exemplar. They can be attached to the front or back of the ship and come in 7 different varieties, each with three levels of upgrade. Each probes has its own strengths and weaknesses and it takes bit of experimentation to determine which probe is best suited to which planet.
Here is a quick run down of their main attacking advantages.
Thanks for looking.
Suminell

Hello all, I'd like to take a moment to introduce our next game titled Z-Exemplar.
Z-Exemplar is a side-scrolling shooter in the tradition of R-Type, Gradius, Nemesis and other classic arcade games from the past. Borrowing its aesthetic from the computers of yesteryear (specifically the Sinclair ZX Spectrum) Z-Exemplar combines bright, bold, 8-bit pixel art with frantic action and an epic mission to conquer a galaxy of almost 1000 planets.
It will be released on all major formats later in the year.
Thank you for your time,
Suminell.